We all have our own tricks for making ourselves feel sexier or empowered by our bodies. Maybe it's as simple as throwing on our hottest-looking jeans or swiping on burgundy lipstick. Or we alter our appearance even more with a special skincare treatment or certain kind of piercing. For 27-year-old model, designer, and "corset fetishist" Kelly Lee Dekay, wearing a corset for 7 years to get a 16-inch waist is just how she has chosen to empower herself, she says.

The method she used is called "tight-lacing," which is exactly as it sounds really. You wear a tightly-laced corset in order to modify your body into an extreme hourglass form a la Jessica Rabbit.

Dekay explained to The Stir about what sparked her interest in tight-lacing:

I was actually inspired by my favorite corset couturier Mr. Pearl. He is a tight-lacer himself who has created corsets for Alexander McQueen, Thierry Muglier, and John Paul Gaultier. My overall aesthetic -- from my hair to the outfits I design -- are inspired by Jessica Rabbit, John Willie Illustrations, and my favorite comic characters. My fashion sense is loud and colorful!

In other words, it's not waist-training. It's not just about having an itty-bitty waist for vanity's sake. She cares about and is part of something bigger -- a community, a persona, a statement, etc. It's her version of sexy, one she has readily admitted is not for everyone. And while some critics have voiced concern about tight-lacing having a negative impact on her well-being, she has noted that she's "in perfect health."

The critics and the "message" they think I'm sending to women upset me deeply. My tight-lacing is by no means a statement on what I think the ideal body shape is. It's something I did for me. ... I celebrate women of [all] shapes and sizes. I celebrate the woman who loves to be natural, and the woman who loves to wear a corset. Neither is better than the other.

As extreme as her look is, the fact that Dekay appears to be so in control of what she's doing actually makes it easier to accept. If she is healthy and happy, and if her body really does reflect who she is inside more now, as she explained in an interview with Cosmopolitan, more power to her! Who are we to question or judge her for that?